Monitoring and modeling of household air quality related to use of different Cookfuels in Paraguay

Abstract

In Paraguay, 49% of the population depends on biomass (wood and charcoal) for cooking. Residential biomass burning is a major source of fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) and carbon monoxide (CO) in and around the household environment. In July 2016, cross‐sectional household air pollution sampling was conducted in 80 households in rural Paraguay. Time‐integrated samples (24 hours) of PM 2.5 and continuous CO concentrations were measured in kitchens that used wood, charcoal, liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), or electricity to cook. Qualitative and quantitative household‐level variables were captured using questionnaires. The average PM 2.5 concentration (μg/m3) was higher in kitchens that burned wood (741.7 ± 546.4) and charcoal (107.0 ± 68.6) than in kitchens where LPG (52.3 ± 18.9) or electricity (52.0 ± 14.8) was used. Likewise, the average CO concentration (ppm) was higher in kitchens that used wood (19.4 ± 12.6) and charcoal (7.6 ± 6.5) than in those that used LPG (0.5 ± 0.6) or electricity (0.4 ± 0.6). Multivariable linear regression was conducted to generate predictive models for indoor PM 2.5 and CO concentrations (predicted R 2 = 0.837 and 0.822, respectively). This study provides baseline indoor air quality data for Paraguay and presents a multivariate statistical approach that could be used in future research and intervention programs.

Indoor Air Quality in Buildings: A Comprehensive Review on the Factors Influencing Air Pollution in Residential and Commercial Structure

“…Both quantitative and qualitative investigations of IAQ in rural communities (low-income families) were conducted to assess the impact of cooking fuels on PM 2.5 and CO concentration in Paraguay [ 72 ]. A much higher concentration of PM 2.5 and CO were found in houses using charcoal and wood compared to the houses using electricity and LPG for cooking, exceeding the recommended value by WHO.…”

Characterization of Indoor PM_2.5 peak: New Indexes and Implications

“…In winter, the dominant cooking fuel was solid fuels, different from that in the summer, which was dominated by LPG and electricity. The combustion of solid fuels could emit lots of PM 2.5 , which lead to a considerable increase of indoor PM 2.5 sharply [25,26]. While in summer, the use of electricity for cooking emitted less PM 2.5 , which was mainly from the cooking oil since the popular Chinese cooking method is stir-frying [27].…”

A global review of the state of the evidence of household air pollution's contribution to ambient fine particulate matter and their related health impacts

“…Multiple successful mitigation policies and campaigns that introduced efficient woodfuel cookstoves and clean fuels may be credited for the benefit. Several organizations designed and distributed improved cookstoves in Latin America, some of which were successfully adopted by targeted communities ( Coelho et al, 2018 ; Tagle et al, 2019 ). With much of the population migrating to live in urban areas and governmental interventions to regulate price and use of LPG, along with fuel subsidy provision, there has been an expansion in LPG usage (more than 70 % of the Latin American population already uses LPG for cooking).…”